Since 2018, the Kaunas Piano Fest has welcomed pianists from all over the world to participate in a remarkable 10 day inspirational experience.
Participants perform concerts, participate in masterclasses and learn together in a wide range of career-building workshops—all in a remarkable environment of mutual support and positive energy. That way, these talented musicians not only develop their artistic imaginations and technique, but they also improve their networking skills, self-management, and career planning strategies.
The idea for the Kaunas Piano Fest originated in a small town, Saint Savin in western France. In 2015, as young pianists, we took part in the Festival de Piano et Master Classes de Saint Savin which was organized by a young couple - Anna and Philippe Argenty. Inspired by the warmth, generosity, and enthusiasm of this couple’s vision, we wanted to create our own festival in Lithuania.
And so we did! While living in three different countries (Darius in Lithuania, Monika in Scotland, Robertas in Germany) we've managed to host the first KPF in 2018. The first edition of the festival relied on funding from private trusts, partners as well as incredible generosity of Lithuanian people. These small, but very important acknowledgments, gave us energy and encouragement to move forward and materialize the idea of international piano festival and masterclass series.
This year the festival is celebrating its 3rd birthday! During the past two years, we've welcomed 25 pianists from 13 different countries, we also organized 20 concerts and 10 educational lectures. Many pianists were awarded with scholarships as well as possibilities to perform solo and with orchestra. Our teachers include world-renowned pianists and music educators like Olga Kern (USA), Fali Pavri (UK), Aaron Shorr (UK), Petras Geniušas (LT), Aleksandra Žvirblytė (LT) as well as experts in other music fields including self-management, performance psychology and music history.
Kaunas Piano Fest has provided a window for us into a world of learning about the culture, audiences, interpersonal skills and much more. It has influenced our personal development as artists by providing opportunities to connect with audiences and other musicians in a less formal setting. Our original inspiration is to gather emerging pianists in a mutually supportive atmosphere where they perform concerts, develop their business skills and grow together as a team throughout the festival.
We, as a team, put a lot of thought and heart in the process of creating Kaunas Piano Fest and this makes it truly ours. It has also been truly rewarding to find ourselves in the surprising position of being able to provide performing and developing opportunities for other young pianists-colleagues who are like us at the start of their professional careers.
